


The New Young Justice

by werewoofteeth



Category: DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Clones, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25851022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/werewoofteeth/pseuds/werewoofteeth
Summary: Damian's finally turns eighteen and has his eyes set on Batman's cowl. Not interested in handing it over so easily, Damian's forced to take on a new team of heros to prove that he's a capable leader. This poses some problems.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	The New Young Justice

The needless celebrations are over, everyone's gone home, everyone has been _thanked_ \- Damian has waited long enough. He turned eighteen three days ago and has been patiently awaiting for the topic to be brought up on its own but that obviously isn't happening. 

Unsurprisingly. 

He heads for the kitchen immediately after his morning stretches and sure enough, the familiar morning paper and tea are sat waiting on the other side of the table just like every morning. Green tea now a days, not coffee, like that slight difference is going to matter when he slips and breaks his old back on impact. Damian waits to be noticed for all of about three seconds. 

"It's time to hand over the cowl," he finally states, leaving no room for argument. 

"No," comes the argument. 

"It was agreed that once I turned eighteen-" Damian begins.

"Then I would _consider_ you taking on the cowl," he finishes matter-of-factly. Damian scowls. The newspaper flicks down and Dick gives him an amused look before flicking it back up. "Just because you're _legally_ an adult now doesn't mean you're ready for the cowl, Damian." 

"I have been ready for years," Damian snaps back defiantly. "What more nonsensical hurdles must I pass to prove myself." As if on cue, and it definitely is on cue, Dick slides a folder out from behind his paper. Damian looks at it briefly before scoffing loudly and joining him at the table to read it. 

It's a bunch of profiles. 

"What is this?" he demands. "Why are you giving me this?" 

"This is your new team," Dick says. 

" _Team_? Batman doesn't work on a _team_ ," Damian insists. 

"No, but he does lead the Justice League," Dick replies. Their dad is so rarely home anymore, Damian more often than not just forgets he exists all together. Sure, it's always a bit of a treat when he returns from off planet and hangs around for a few days to recover, but otherwise, Damian honestly forgets he still wears the cowl on the large scale. 'Justice League Batman's and 'dad home from a trip' might as well be two completely different people. 

"You want me to lead a bunch of children?" he asks mildly. "What will this prove?" 

"That you're capable of leadership even if the situation isn't ideal. I want to know that you'll be able to work with others regardless of your differences," Dick explains. "Working as Robin and working on a team are extremely different. I should know." Damian stares at the folder again. It's always one thing after another with Dick. He has to hand the cowl over eventually. Damian just fears it's going to end up the same way Bruce handed it to Dick- with him dying.

Damian looks through the files more closely this time. 

Jon Kent, obviously. Half Kryptonian. Son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Seventeen. 

Dare he say, Jon is one of his closest friends so Dick putting Jon on his team makes sense. Whether or not working with him is going to be easy remains to be seen, though. He's stubborn and prone to acting on whims and emotions. Having him on a team may very well be catastrophic if he can't follow orders. 

Lian Harper. Archer. Daughter of Roy Harper but heavily influenced by Jason Todd, too. Fifteen. 

He and Lian used to get along better when they were younger. Much, much younger. When Dick and Jason had their falling out leading to Dick falling out with Roy too, they had less contact and thus, formed no further bonds. It's strange that Dick would put her on his team considering he hasn't spoken to Roy in years and only speaks to Jason when he absolutely has to. She's a good archer but if she's anything like her fathers, she's not going to like taking instruction. 

Owen Harkness. Meta. Son of George Harkness aka "Digger" and an unknown mother, adopted by Lisa Snart aka "Golden Glider" and Roscoe Dillon aka "The Top". Fifteen. 

A rogue. Sure, he's just a kid but he's being raised with and around rogues. Damian can only assume he's on the team in some sorry attempt by Barry to try to keep him on the straight and narrow. Barry's poor control over the Rogues and Central City as a whole leaves much to be desired and Wally isn't any better. There's no way he's going to listen to orders and may even go as far as to sabotage the team. 

Dawn and Don West-Allen. Meta. Twins of Barry and Iris West-Allen. Unofficially also the children of Lenoard and Mick Snart-Rory. Twelve. 

And so concludes the circus. Of course the two Speedster children are on the team. If it wasn't bad enough with a Rogue meta and a Superman In Training, he's saddled with two twelve year olds capable of going from zero to light speed and definitely isn't going to listen to anything anyone tells them ever. 

Damian sees what Dick is doing. He thinks he won't be able to do it because he's been saddled with five kids who won't listen to a word he says. Dick's trying to set him up to fail so he has a good reason to refuse to give him the cowl. Damian glares at the back side of his morning paper and flips the folder closed again. 

Well he'll show him. 

"Our home base?" Damian asks. Dick folds his paper up as Alfred brings breakfast over and joins them at the table. 

"You can use the old Batcave," he replies. "It's still secret, it's secure, and there's already a direct zeta line to it. I've already programmed your team into the system. You can set up the rest." 

"When's our first meeting?" Damian asks. Dick smiles at him. 

"After breakfast." 

X

There is a special place in hell for Dick Grayson. 

Damian's, however, is right here and now. He rubs the bridge of his nose while his new team flicks around the cave saiting their curiosity. The cave hasn't been taken care of in years, since Dick first took on the cowl at least and he moved the Batcave under the manor, so not only is everything filthy and covered in grime, but the only thing in functioning order is the zeta. It's a lot smaller than Damian remembers it, too. 

Or maybe he's just never seen this many people inside. 

Fortunately, Dick seems to have bought out the motel that has since been built directly above it and Damian doesn't see having a problem with setting up a direct route between that and the cave. There's certainly not enough room to house the six of them down here.

"Boy, aren't you lookin' like a ray of sunshine," Jon comments with a grin, seemingly having had his fill of ooing and awing over some old cave. This place is going to need some serious work done to be usable as their base. 

Damian gives him an annoyed look but the sound of crashing makes him close his eyes in resignation. 

"Oi, careful you two," Owen says from somewhere. Jon laughs. 

"Everyone here seems really cool! It'll be awesome to be on an actual team for once," he insists. Of course Jon would think that. Damian tries to blink away his stress headache. 

"To me!" he calls. Lian looks at him briefly but immediately returns to talking to Owen like he's said nothing at all. No one else makes any reaction. Yeah, that figures.

"Yo! Huddle time, come on!" Jon says, hovering for some height. "Red, O, Tornadoes, let's talk!" That, obviously, they respond to. Yeah, Damian saw that coming, too. Dawn and Don bolt over, looking at Jon with bright grins and shimmying in place like staying still for two seconds would kill them. Owen and Lian aren't far behind. 

"We have some rules to go over," Damian states. 

"Rules?" Lian replies with a scoff. "What'dya mean _rules_?" 

"Batman's cave, Batman's rules," Damian says shortly. "He'll be the one giving us our missions. Since everyone here isn't of age, with the exception of me, an adult is going to accompany us at all times." He points up into a dark corner and everyone squints in that direction. Dick flashes a light down at them and the twins happily wave at him in response. 

"Creepy," Owen murmurs. 

"No wandering off without permission, either- in or out of costume. When you do go somewhere, use the 'buddy' system. Twins, you need a third 'buddy'," Damian explains. The twins both give 'ok' hand signs and resume their little jig. 

"I thought this was supposed to be givin' us some freedom to stretch our legs?" Lian asks mildly. "You know, to get a feel for how _we_ want to vigilantes." 

"You can't be a vigilante if you're dead," Damian says dryly. 

"Depends on the vigilante," Lian replies sheerly for the sake of being a smartass. Like her dads. Damian moves on. 

"We never use our real names while in the base or in costume. As much as _some_ of our identities are far from secret, it's better to be safe than sorry," he says. "Designation; Robin." 

"Designation; Superboy!" Jon adds in. 

"Isn't there already a Superboy?" Lian asks. 

"Yeah, but he's not me," Jon scoffs back.

"Next," Damian says curtly, heading off any argument starting. 

"Boomerang," Owen says with a firm, self assured nod. 

"So we're just taking our mentors' names? Alright, Red Hood," Lian says. They all look at the twins who, for the first time, extremely briefly stop moving. Then they start signing. 

"Tornado Twins," they sign in unison. They then proceed to sign "fire" at the same time, look at each other, then sign "ice". After that, they're moving too fast for Damian to actually be able to see what's happening. 

"Uh, do they not speak?" Jon asks, pointing to them curiously. Owen shrugs. 

"When they want to," he assures. 

"What're they arguing about?" Lian asks. 

"They can't decide which one's 'fire' and which one's 'ice'," Owen says. 

"You can see that?" Jon murmurs in awe, staring at the blur of hand motions the twins make at each other. 

"Fuck no," Owen scoffs. "You learn to infer things with them. Just Tornado Twins is fine. They'll know when you're talking to them." And, more likely than not, promptly ignore whoever's speaking to them. 

"As team leader-" Damian says. 

"Who made you leader?" Lian asks immediately. They might as well get this out of the way now. "Just because you're a bat kid doesn't automatically make you the leader, pipsqueak." 

"I'm the oldest," Damian states plainly. "And the only adult." 

"I'm the super here, I think I have more of a reason to lead," Jon insists. 

"I'm not taking orders from a dude in a studded leather jacket," Owen states plainly. "Where'd you even get that thing? Your grandma's yard sale?" 

"Bold words from some punk who can just throw things fast," Jon scoffs back. "And not even on command." 

"You're both the prettiest alpha males," Lian says sarcastically. "Nice try, but I'd take orders from thing one and two over there before I listened to a bat _or_ a supe." The twins stop to look at them curiously, then resumes their argument without any care to the current conversation. 

"This isn't up for debate," Damian assures. "I'm team leader. I'm the only one with the proper training and skills." 

"Wanna put that to the test, pipsqueak?" Lian replies, already reaching for her bow. Low blow it is. 

"The Rogue kid and Queen kid don't want to play nice, colour me shocked," Damian says scathingly. "Batman offered you to be on the team because he believed you'd work well together but obviously not." Both Lian and Owen scowl at him irritably. 

" _Whatever_ ," she says dismissively but she releases her grip on her bow all the same. "Being the leader don't mean shit if you can't do it well anyways." 

"Good luck getting the twins to listen to you," Owen scoffs, gesturing at them with a thumb. Damian watches as Don and Dawn finally come to a physical altercation and one tackles the other to the floor where they scuffle silently. Great. He looks back at everyone else. 

"Before we do anything, we need to get this place cleaned up," Damian instructs. They look around at the mess of a cave. "Superboy, you're on ceilings. Red Hood, on sweeping. Boomerang, dusting. Tornado Twins, gather up all the broken stuff for removal. I'll work on getting the computers fixed." 

"Sounds good, Robin," Jon says. At the very least, he knows when to fall in line even if he might not stay on that line. Lian gives him a sarcastic salute as she walks off and Owen gives him the British finger before following. Damian isn't here to be their friend; he's here to lead them. 

And even then, only until Dick realises he's a totally competent leader. 

Damian looks down at the twins still rumbling while everyone else is beginning on their jobs. He knows better than to touch a speedster in motion without the proper protection and these two obviously don't have full control of themselves yet. 

"I asked you to help clean," he says, calm and even. They don't notice even a little. Damian reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bag of gummy snacks before audibly shaking it. The twins immediately stop fighting to look at him. Honestly, Damian doesn't think they remember what they were fighting over. 

"Pick up all the broke stuff in the cave and you can have these," Damian says. The twins look at him blankly for a moment. He can _see_ them contemplating just taking them but, Rogue taught or not, they're still Allen's kids and they're inherently good willed. They bolt off to start helping clean up. 

With that dealt with, Damian begins his own work on the archaic computer. 

"So you're Red Arrow's daughter, right?" Jon asks. 

"Uh huh," Lian says. 

"That's cool. My brother and your dad were on the same team for a while!" Jon chirps. 

"Kay," Lian says. "So?" 

"I just thought it was cool now we're on the same team?" Jon says. 

"You're batting in the wrong park, dude," Owen says. "Don't you think you're a little old for a fifteen year old, anyways?" 

"I was just being _nice_ ," Jon huffs back. "Since, you know, you already seem to not like me even though I haven't done anything." 

"You're definitely as whiny as your dad," Lian says. 

"I'm gonna go clean over there," Jon says blandly. 

"Hey! What did Uncle Cold tell you about eating copper wiring!" Owen yells. "Stop, you little garbage disposals! I'm gonna tell Mama!" 

It's going to be a long day. 

X

Damian knows the twins are done with their job because one of them comes and takes the fruit snacks directly out of his pocket. Don pulls the package open and they immediately split the contents perfectly in half and chow down like they've never eaten in their lives. He looks back to see how the rest of them are coming along. 

There's still a long way to go but with most of the garbage out of the way and at least some of the stuff dusted, it's already looking better. Jon has managed to break off enough of the stalagmites to open the space up some more which helps. Damian's going to need new parts for the computer before he can continue, though. 

Also more snacks to keep the twins attention. 

"Finish up for today!" Damian calls. Jon immediately drops a large piece of rock and Damian inhales slow to calm himself. Several seconds later, it hits the bottom of the cave. Dawn and Don dart over to the ledge to peer down in interest and then look at one another questioningly. 

"Oh shit, that's a long way down," Owen murmurs, suddenly far more aware of where the landing of the cave is. 

"This place is a fuckin' death trap," Lian says blandly. "No wonder dad made me get a rabies shot first." 

"Sorry!" Jon calls. The twins wave at him happily as he floats back down to join them. They all huddle up in the middle again. 

"The building directly above us is where we'll be sleeping," Damian explains. "We should get situated before it gets dark." 

"Oh thank god," Lian says in relief. 

"I call the sunniest room!" Jon chirps. He flies off again and the twins watch him go briefly before bolting off ahead of everyone else. The rest of them take the elevator. Owen yelps when the doors open and Dick is already standing inside, donned in his Batman gear. 

"Hi Uncle Nightwing," Lian greets and gives him a wave. 

"Hi Red," Dick replies, waving back. Owen stands on the other side of the elevator as they ride back up. The twins greet them at the top only to bolt away again before returning and shimmy shaking enthusiastically. 

They all head into the motel and go their separate ways to look around. Dick follows Damian. 

"Just barely managed to control that one," he comments. 

"Are you going to be looking over my shoulder to give me critique this entire time?" Damian asks blandly. Dick huffs a laugh. "How long are you going to insist on me doing this?" 

"Well so far you're not inspiring faith in me," he replies. Damian tries not to scowl. "The good news is, I already have a mission for you." 

"Is there a cat stuck in a tree somewhere?" he asks scathingly. He looks into rooms as they pass, mentally mapping out routes through the motel and where to begin building certain things as well as a strategic place for his own living quarters. The cave isn't going to offer much in terms of space, especially once they start filling it out with necessary equipment; the motel should never self sufficient if they're ever cut off anyways. 

"Not quite," Dick says. "You're going to Infinity Island. OG Superboy will be accompanying you." 

"Grandfather's old base? Why? There hasn't been any activity there since the Lazarus Pit dried up," Damian asks.

"We've been getting strange readouts there for months. Zatanna, Blue Beetle, and Impulse checked it out when it was first reacting. They didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Zatanna attributed it to the Lazarus Pit having lingering effects. Over the months, there's been more and more activity, far too frequent and timed to be an accident," Dick explains. 

"New inhabitants?" Damian muses. 

"Or old ones, perhaps," Dick says. "These Reach 'cults' are popping up more and more lately. The Flashes are working with Blue Beetle to find the source of them but nothing so far."

"When do we leave?" Damian asks. 

"Noon tomorrow," Dick answers. "You're just doing basic recon. You find anything, you report back to me immediately." Damian rolls his eyes. He's almost certain there's nothing there and if there is, that Dick likely _put_ it there as a test. As uncontrollable as his team is, he's not worried about it. 

"Understood," Damian says curtly. "Send me the data." Dick nods in agreement. 

X

Everyone picks rooms and settles in without much of a fuss. There are so many to choose from, there's no reason for any of them to argue over any. 

Jon, of course, finds the room that's going to get the most sun throughout the day and promptly tears the curtains down to be sure of it. Lian picks a room on the second floor with the best view of their surrounding area but quick access to the nearest escape route, too. Owen picks the room across from the twins who in turn pick the two rooms closest to the empty pool. They've already destroyed a section of wall to freely go between rooms. 

Damian decides on a room near the middle of the building, right beside where he's decided is the best place for the direct link to the cave. 

He watches from the roof as his team come and go for the rest of the day to 'move in'. 

A general assessment of his team leaves much to be desired. Lian and Owen seem to have made fast friends sheerly on the fact that they're going to fight him the entire way. Jon is- Jon. Dawn and Don can be bought with food, sure, but that only goes so far. He needs them to listen without incentive and more importantly, he needs to know their attention can be held while on missions. 

Jon spots him suddenly from the ground floor and jumps from there to the roof, only slowing his fall when he's close enough to land without breaking anything. Though he can fly, he's learned most of his behavior from Conner who notoriously doesn't from years of being unable to. Jon grins at him. 

"Everyone is really nice!" he says. He's way too nice for his own good sometimes. 

"Red Hood and Boomerang don't like you," Damian states. Jon makes a dismissive gesture.

"They don't like my dad. They don't know me!" he assures. "I'm sure we're all a little high strung right now. New stuff happening, y'know?" 

"Hm," Damian replies in disinterest. He's already contemplating what's on Infinity Island. Dick mentioned they had sent a team there earlier but Damian has no knowledge of this visit, implying that whatever is out there is like just a test. Dick wouldn't throw anything at them that would actually be dangerous even if a majority of them could handle it. 

Their saving grace right now is that they work well independently. Jon is a super, the twins are competent speedsters, Lian is well trained, and Owen knows how to get himself out of danger. Even if they can't work together flawlessly in the beginning, they should be able to hold their own by themselves. 

Which means whatever test Dick is planning is likely going to force them to work together. 

"What're you thinking about?" Jon asks, gently floating down to sit beside him. 

"My brother," Damian answers blandly. He won't admit it but he's worried about Dick. Dick is getting older and they come closer and closer to him getting to the age that their father once 'died'. Bruce was fine but who's to say Dick will be? He _needs_ to give up the cowl before he gets hurt. 

Dick doesn't even _want_ it. 

"Ah, yeah, me too," Jon agrees. Damian arches a brow at him. "I mean, Conn- OG Superboy was on a team kinda like this and I don't want him to think I'm giving his name a bad rap or something." 

"OG Superboy gives his own name a bad rap," Damian replies. Jon gives him a playful shove. 

"I'm serious. I don't want him to think I'm doing a bad job," he urges. "I'm still kind of new to this 'hero' thing."

"Then don't do a bad job," Damian says. 

"Ugh, you're not gonna get the team to like you like this," Jon warns. He throws an arm around Damian's neck and Damian scoffs loudly at the excess contact but he doesn't deter it. 

"They don't need to like me," he says.

"You want them to like you," Jon hums. 

"I don't care," Damian replies. Jon laughs. 

"We have a mission tomorrow, right?" he asks. 

"Were you eavesdropping?" Damian asks mildly. 

"It's not my fault you guys were talking so loud!" Jon replies making his ears twitch with a grin. They definitely weren't but it's not like this is the first time his super hearing has gotten him into trouble. 

"We do, yes," Damian confirms. 

"Then we'll get to see each other in action!" Jon insists. "Know what we're workin' with and good stuff like that." 

"Right," Damian agrees. And he is. Regardless of what happens, or why, he'll be able to see them in action and from there, decide the best route to use their assets. 

"Oh, I smell food. Let's go before the Tornadoes eat everything." 

X

They have to take a boat to the island which is really only a problem for the twins. It's decent sized and Dawn and Don bolt around what little space they have like angry little pinballs the entire time. Aside from that, everyone else is capable of entertaining themselves for the ride. 

"Your gloves are cool," Owen says. 

"Thanks," Lian replies, obsessively tweaking her bow string. 

"So are you, like, actually good with that thing or what?" he asks. 

"Ya," Lian says. A pause. 

"Bet I could throw an arrow better than you can fire it," Owen says. 

"Bet I could high kick your teeth out," Lian replies. 

"No way you could reach," Owen says. 

"Wanna find out?" Lian warns. 

"No fighting on the boat!" Conner calls from somewhere else entirely. Jon sun bathes somewhere the twins won't walk all over him while Damian takes the time to go over some of his notes. He still hasn't figured out exactly what it is Dick is going to throw at them but they'll be ready. 

Don is suddenly at his side and an instant later, Dawn is on his other side. They look up at him curiously and shimmy- as usual. 

"What?" Damian asks. 

"Worried," Dawn signs. 

"Worried?" Damian repeats. They shake more anxiously and look out over the island starting to come into view in the distance. He's actually shocked that they feel anything besides hunger and velocity. "What are you worried about?"

"Eobard," Don signs. 

"Eobard Thawne?" Damian asks. "Reverse Flash?" They both nod. "Why are you worried about him?" 

"Infinity Island," they both signs. Their little shimmying dance grows more unsettled and frantic. 

"Reverse Flash is in Iron Heights prison," Damian says. "He's not going to be on Infinity Island." 

"Escape?" Dawn signs. 

"As far as I'm aware, no," Damian says. "If he had, your father and uncles would call me so we could enact safety measures for you two." They both sigh in relief and nod again. Then they're back to bolting around and touching everything and looking over the edges. At least they process their emotions fast, too. 

"ETA on arrival?" Damian calls. 

"Twenty minutes, give or take!" Conner replies. 

"Gather up!" Damian instructs. The twins bolt over at once and Jon leisurely floats over soon after. They take their sweet time but Lian and Owen join them without complaint this time. Damian would say it's an improvement but that would be setting the bar too low. 

"Remember, we're only here on recon," Damian says. "The island is supposed to be abandoned and we're here to confirm that. Don't instigate anything without approval. If there is something going on, we need to know what it is first." 

The twins both raise their hands. 

"Yes?" Damian says mildly. They sign too fast for him to make out what they're saying. 

"In shorter words; what are we looking for?" Owen translates.

"Any activity or signs that people have been around," Damian says. "Infinity Island should be abandoned and any sign that it may be occupied or that someone has come looking for something needs to be reported back to the League immediately." 

"Yeah, so they can do jack all about it," Lian scoffs. 

"Superboy will give us an overhead before we set foot on the shore. Tornado Twins, circle the island and let us know if there's anything docked anywhere," Damian instructs. The twins bolt off in an instant, hopping off the boat and disappearing off in different directions. 

"Will report back," Jon agrees with a determined nod before launching himself upward and taking off towards the island. Lian and Owen exchange a look- one Damian doesn't particularly like. 

The three of them wait on deck. It doesn't take long for the twins to return, climbing up out of the water and back on deck. Dawn shakes herself dry rapidly and Don is right behind her, the two of them grinning excitedly in the process. Lian shields her face with a bland look. 

"Anything?" Damian asks. They both shake their heads. "Good. Jon, what do you see?" 

"Nothing moving," Jon replies. "But there's some weird shapes inside. I dunno what they are but they're not moving and they’re giving off heat signatures." 

"The island used to be used as a cloning facility," Damian informs. "They're likely forgotten about prototypes. We'll check it out." 

"Great, I love clones," Owen says sarcastically. 

"What's wrong with clones?" Lian snaps back. 

"They're usually mean?" Owen says. 

"I come from a family of clones, you know," Lian says matter-of-factly. 

"Well I don't know your family but you're not, like, especially nice," he murmurs. She gives him a dirty look. 

Jon floats down to join them as they climb off deck and onto the sandy shore. Conner remains behind on the boat, of course, he's just here as back up if anything happens. Obviously he doesn't have anything better to do today. Damian stops to listen but he doesn't hear, or feel, anything out of the ordinary. This island has been quiet for nearly a decade. 

"Tornado Twins, check the shore," Damian instructs. They dash off. "Superboy, show us where those signatures were." 

"This way," Jon says, gesturing them to follow. Don runs up to Damian's side as they're walking and tugs on his sleeve. When Damian looks at him, however, he just hands over a shiny shell. 

"Uh, thanks," Damian murmurs. He doesn't want this. He pockets it for now though and seconds later, Dawn returns as well. Having found nothing, they join the rest of them in following Jon. 

It's eerily quiet here. Damian opens the inside of the facility and it creaks and groans like no one's used it in decades. It definitely doesn't look like anyone has been here recently. They wander further in. 

"This place gives me the creeps," Lian murmurs. 

"No kidding," Owen agrees. "What did they even do here?" 

"Train cult warriors mostly," Damian says. "Ra's al Ghul set up this base to take advantage of the Lazarus Pit. He had an entire army behind him. When he joined forces with the Light, Reverse Flash assisted Talia al Ghul in creating a clone army." 

"Like Red Arrow?" Lian asks. 

"Yes," Damian says. "As well as the first Guardian and yourself. Heretic, Inertia, Scarlet Scarab, White Rabbit, and Cuckoo were all successful projects as well. OG Superboy and his twin, Match, were an effort taken on solo by Lex Luthor to stroke his own ego." 

"Inertia can bite one," Owen scoffs. 

"Match, too," Jon agrees. 

"Most of the clones were 'decommissioned' due to instability," Damian says. "After Talia al Ghul and Reverse Flash were apprehended and incarcerated, most clones deteriorated after a few years."

"Is OG Superboy going to do that?" Jon asks worriedly. Lian also looks at him with a firmed mouth. 

"We don't know," Damian says. "But probably not." Jon shudders but the sight of the large, steel door makes him sigh in relief. 

"They're in here," he assures. "Here, let me." He rubs his hands together and gets down to tuck his fingers under the edge of the door. It slams open, obviously, with more force than Jon was intending, startling even himself. The twins clap. 

"It wasn't locked, was it?" Lian says. 

"How was I supposed to know that?" Jon shoots back hastily. Damian holds a hand out to prevent anyone from entering the room just yet. It's full of cloning tubes, yes, but many of them are busted or powered down. The few that are still functioning host a variety of strange, seemingly failed attempts of their art. The room itself is completely overgrown, riddled with vines and flora that's grown in from outside over the years. It's quiet. 

Damian can feel a second presence though. 

He changes his hand from stop to slow. Lian draws her bow wearily and Owen follows suit, palming his boomerang as they cautiously enter the lab. 

They get all of about two steps inside when the steel door suddenly slams closed behind them. Dawn yelps in panic, immediately bolting back precious milliseconds too late and Don lets out an equally panicked warble from the otherside. She scrambles to try to get the door open again and reunite with her brother but it doesn't budge. Jon hurriedly moves to help. 

"Whoa, hold on little guys," he says. "I got you." 

Alarms begin to sound. 

"Oh, we're just doing recon," Lian says sarcastically as she pulls an arrow from her quiver and nocks it. "Nothing's going to happen." The cloning tubes begin to open, spilling fluid everywhere and releasing whatever monstrosity are inside. 

"Well I hate this," Owen says. 

"Get that door open!" Damian instructs. 

"No go!" Jon replies, struggling to lift it. "It's not moving!" Dawn bolts to the control panel and begins hitting all of the buttons in every order. Damian draws his sword as what living experiments there are begin to arouse, angry and, dare he say, hungry. 

Dick didn't plan this. 

These clones are new. Someone's obviously been here though they cover their tracks well. Without the data from the equipment, however, Damian can't be for sure _when_ the last person here was working. The clones move straight for them as they become aware and seeing them up close gives a better picture of who they're supposed to be; Blue Beetles, Impulses, Tigresses, and Superboys. 

Whoever has been working on these obviously have no idea what they're doing, however, because they look a mess. They're not even sentient. 

But they are getting closer. 

"Door!" Damian barks. Dawn shrugs helplessly as she pushes more buttons. "Positions!" 

"And what positions would that be?" Lian snaps at him. 

" _Combat_ positions," Damian clarifies irritably. Jon bolts upward and not far behind, Lian takes to climbing some vines for a vantage point. Dawn keeps working on the panel. Before anyone can even wonder if the clones are even mean, two jump on Owen and Damian quickly helps him get them off. 

"Shit! They bite! They bite!" Owen yelps. "Fuck!" 

There's an explosion somewhere in the middle of the lab that knocks a good chunk of the clones over. It also knocks Jon back and Lian clings to the vines to keep herself steady. Damian swings at any clone getting too close and Owen urgently whacks any within biting range. 

"What was that, Superboy?" Damian demands. 

"One of the clones is _on fire_!" Jon replies. Great. They bite and catch fire. 

"There's not that many of them! Put them down!" Damian instructs. No one needs to be told twice. Lian immediately starts a rapid fire of arrows, proving without a doubt she has her fathers' accuracy. Owen switches his boomerang for one with more bite to it and moves back behind Damian to give himself space to aim and throw. Jon stays high, using his laser vision to sweep wide areas at a time. 

"Get that door open, Tornado!" Damian says again. 

"Obviously she's trying!" Owen barks. 

"Try harder! I don't want to find out how many more they have in storage!" Damian snaps. 

"This terminal requires a dna sequence from Eobard Thawne!" Dawn yelps. 

"That's not what I thought you'd sound like," Jon says quietly. 

"We don't _have_ that, TT!" Lian assures. 

"Aware!" Dawn replies. "I'm bypassing the system as fast as I can!" 

"Okay, so they're like, smart and stuff," Jon says. "How come you eat rocks 'n stuff?" 

"Not the time, super idiot!" Lian shouts. She's right and not just because of the green _energy_ bolt that takes Jon out of the air hard. That looks way too familiar to be comfortable. The door finally opens and urgently, Dawn and Don reunite like they've been apart all their lives. Then they bolt in to help. 

"Superboy, report!" Damian commands. 

"I'm fine! That actually hurt a little," he murmurs. 

"Clear the room!" Damian instructs. With the twins aiding, that becomes a lot easier. To a point, at least. They’re not combat efficient but they’re fast and like the other speedsters have proved, sometimes that’s all you need. Sometimes. Most of the clones have fallen when Dawn gets thrown across the room by, what Damian’s going to make an educated guess at, is the one that had knocked Jon back earlier. Owen bolts towards her in a sudden burst of speed, catching her before she hits the wall. They all look towards the angry, flaming clone. 

Damian quickly holds up a hand to halt everyone. 

This clone isn’t like the others. She doesn’t have too many or not enough limbs or not well enough defined physical features, no, she looks perfectly human. Well, perfectly Tamaranian. Unlike the others, she also seems to be capable of thought as she begins to look around when no one moves or speaks for several moments. The fire that encompasses her flickers out and she slowly lowers her hands to squint around the room. 

No longer on fire, it’s easier to tell what she actually looks like. 

She says hello in Tamaranian. 

“Oh she speaks! Maybe she’s friendly!” Jon alerts. Immediately, she whips around to look at him and raises her hands to the ready again. Damian watches curiously. Jon hastily holds his hands up in submission. “Whoa! No no, I’m friendly! Sorry for hittin’ you with the laser thing.” 

She speaks more but Damian isn’t fluent enough to make out what she’s saying. Tamaranian isn’t a language where one can ‘pick out’ known words; learning enough nouns and verbs won’t let someone stumble their way through a conversation. She seems agitated but she isn’t getting violent yet. 

“What language even is that?” Lian asks. Owen looks at the twins who shrug in reply and shake their heads. They do, however, hold up a metal nameplate very distinctly embossed with ‘Nightstar’ on it. It must have come off her cloning tank. “Nightstar? Is that her?” 

Nightstar turns on Lian suspiciously and Lian jerks back a little. 

“Someone needs to kiss her,” Damian instructs. 

“Whoa, what?” Lian snaps at him immediately. “What the hell are you talking about?” 

“She’s a Tamaranian, obviously,” he says, gesturing to Nightstar. Lian makes a face. “Oral to oral contact will give her whatever languages her donor knows. Someone needs to kiss her.” Three hands go up. 

“Of course _you_ do,” Owen says mildly. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jon replies with a bristle. “I’m trying to be helpful! What’s _your_ reason?” 

“Uh, she’s hot?” Owen points out. Nightstar looks between them as they talk, confused but steadily growing more curious to what they’re saying than upset. 

“You pig,” Lian scoffs. “I’m the only other girl here, I should do it. What’s a kiss between gal pals?” 

“Uh, gay?” Owen says. 

“You have a problem with that?” Lian snaps at him. 

“I have two moms!” Owen assures her. “Besides, Tornado’s a girl.” Both twins urgently shake their heads. Jon looks at them curiously. 

“You are?” he muses. “Which- one?” The twins point at each other. 

“She’s very disoriented and upset,” Damian says. “She’s likely to punch whoever does it.” Owen quickly puts his hand down. “She also has super strength so it’s going to hurt.” Lian puts her hand down. “A lot.” Jon looks at Nightstar briefly before slowly putting his hand down, too. 

“One of the twins should do it,” Damian goes on. Both of them shake their heads even more viciously in refusal. “They know the most languages and will be able to get out of the way if she does strike out.” 

“Ya, but they don’t wanna,” Lian says. “ _You_ should do it, mighty team leader. Pretty sure you know the second most languages and your reflexes are good.” Damian looks at Nightstar. _Night_ star. Black hair. Blue eyes. 

He incredibly doesn’t want to kiss his niece. 

“I’m baseline,” he says. “If she hits me, she could kill me. Which is why you shouldn’t, either.” That and they’re cousins. _He guesses_.

“So Jon,” Owen says. Jon winces. 

“She’s gonna hit me, though,” he whines. 

"If she does, I'll pull you out of the way, alright?" Owen promises. 

"Yeah, you're going to magically get a burst of strength when she tries to knock me out?" Jon asks in disbelief. 

"Hey, I have some control over it," Owen promises. Jon sighs. 

"Okay fine," he agrees begrudgingly. He gives her a little wave and Nightstar looks questioningly as someone gets in her personal bubble. "You don't understand me but this is just gonna be real quick, okay?" 

Nightstar replies something no one understands. 

Jon swiftly ducks in to give her a quick peck on the mouth and she looks surprised. He pulls back hastily and checks to see how she's going to respond. Initially, she just seems curious. Then she punches him in the chest. Jon is thrown back with quite some force, hitting the ground hard and skidding away. Damian is sure he's more surprised than hurt, though. 

"Did you even try to help?" Lian asks. 

"Huh? Oh, absolutely not," Owen assures. "He's a super. He's fine." Nightstar looks alarmed, looking between them as she suddenly knows exactly what everyone is saying. She tilts her head and smiles enthusiastically. 

"Can you understand us now?" Damian asks. 

"Yes!" Nightstar replies. "Hello!" 

"Hello," Damian greets. "We're sorry for attacking you. We didn't know you were here." 

"That is okay! It did not hurt!" Nightstar assures. 

"Can you see?" Damian asks. Nightstar makes a perplexed face. 

"No," she answers and tilts her head the other way. Everyone looks surprised at that. The way she follows everyone's voice and the fact that her solid blue eyes _aren_ ' _t_ traditional Tamaranian green gives away that there was something wrong. "Should I be able to?" 

"I don't know," Damian admits. He needs to find the console here and gather whatever data he can to bring back. There's no way she was developed in the last few months. If she has potentially been here for years, why didn't anyone else looking into this place find her? 

"Who- are you?" Nightstar asks. 

"I'm Robin," Damian introduces. 

"Red Hood," Lian says. 

"Boomerang," Owen adds. 

"Superboy," Jon groans from the ground. "Ouchie." 

"The two quiet ones are the Tornado Twins," Owen explains. They both wave. "They're waving." Nightstar smiles and waves back. 

"Do you _have_ a name?" Lian asks. 

"Is it not Nightstar?" she replies curiously. 

"It can be for now," Damian says. They'll figure that out later when they're not in the middle of a situation. That door didn't close by itself and the clones definitely didn't release themselves, either. Someone else is here and they're not out of the danger zone yet. 

"We're bringing her with us, right?" Lian confirms. 

"Of course," Damian replies. She is, probably, his niece. "Can you fly?" 

"I do not know? Can I?" Nightstar asks curiously. 

"Your powers should be tired to your emotions," Damian explains. "When you were upset, you fired starbolts." Nightstar looks at her hands instinctively. 

"Yes, that is right," she murmurs. "What feeling is it to fly?" 

"Joy, I believe," Damian says. 

"For what should I feel joyous?" Nightstar asks. Lian and Owen both frown at each other. 

"I know your mother," Damian says. Nightstar looks surprised initially and then she grins and, sure enough, she floats just a little. "And she's going to love you." 

"Oh, shit, grab her quick," Lian urges as Nightstar begins to float upwards more than necessary. She covers her face with her hands as Dawn and Don hastily latch onto her ankles to keep her from floating into the stratosphere. 

"I got some rope. Should be fire resistant enough," Owen assures as he unfurls it from his bag. The twins hold Nightstar steady as Owen ties one half around her waist and Lian ties the other half around Jon's. Once she's nice and secure, she whacks Jon in the face looking for him and when she finds him, steadies her hands on his shoulders to hang on and grins. 

"Hullo!" she says. 

"Hi," Jon says sheepishly. Lian rolls her eyes. 

"You're very pretty Nightstar," she says. Nightstar beams happily at the compliment. "If the boys are acting strange around you, that's why." 

"Is that bad?" she asks worriedly. 

"Nah, just means they're pigs," Lian assures. Owen and Jon both give her mild looks. 

"I understand!" Nightstar chirps. "What is a 'pig'?" 

"Later," Damian says curtly. "We have a mission to finish. Someone has obviously been here and as far as we know, might _still_ be here. No one stray far from the group. Superboy, check for any more signatures nearby. Red Hood, Boomerang, I want you to check the clones. Figure out who they were supposed to be and report back. Tornado Twins, you have your tablets?" The twins gladly hold up their tablets up above their heads. "Good. Record whatever information you can on the terminals around here. I'm going to download what I can from the computers here." 

"Got it!" Jon agrees. The twins dart off to do their jobs and Lian and Owen wander off to start theirs. 

"Are terminals and computers different?" Lian mumbles. Owen shrugs. 

"I apologise for striking you, Superboy," Nightstar says. "You surprised me."

"It's okay! It wouldn't be happy if someone tried to kiss me without permission, either," Jon assures. "So does that mean you can speak Kryptonian because I can?" 

"Hmm, maybe!" Nightstar replies. 

"OG SB, this is Robin. We've acquired an additional asset," Damian informs as he begins connecting up to what's left of the computers here.

"Uh okay," Conner says. "In English, please." 

"We found a new friend!" Jon chirps. "Oops, she's on fire again." 

"I hope we have a fire extinguisher on board," Lian murmurs. 

"Get a communications link to Batman ready," Damian instructs. 

"This is Cadmus all over again," Conner sighs. "Ten minute communications check on my mark. Mark." 


End file.
